


Blossom by Blossom

by JinieBabie (eat_jenn)



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, But only a little, Cute Hwang Hyunjin, First Meetings, Flowers, Han Jisung | Han is Whipped, Happy Ending, Homophobia, Kissing, Kissing in the Rain, M/M, Meet-Cute, Mild Language, Mutual Pining, No one gets hurt, Oblivious Bang Chan, Pining, Seo Changbin is Whipped, Seo Changbin is a Mess, Silly, Swearing, Sweet Hwang Hyunjin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-24
Updated: 2021-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-24 16:40:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30075168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eat_jenn/pseuds/JinieBabie
Summary: Blossom by blossom the spring begins - A. C. SwinburneA love story slowly unfolding, like petals of a flower in bloom.Changbin and Hyunjin's love story, from winter to spring.
Relationships: Hwang Hyunjin/Seo Changbin, implied Bang Chan/Han Jisung | Han
Comments: 3
Kudos: 6
Collections: Blossom Boy Fest





	Blossom by Blossom

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who made this fest possible! This was so much fun to write!

A bell chimed as Changbin entered the cafe Chan had assigned as their meeting place. Since they were going to have to meet often for a big project and Chan had a part-time job there, they agreed that it was a convenient location to meet up. Plus, since it was a cafe, it meant that they could get food before they started a session.

The cafe was busy, customers bustling from the to-go line or into open tables. He looked around briefly, trying to spot Chan or Jisung. Eventually, he caught sight of a mess of curly, bleach-blond hair and walked over.

“Nice apron,” Changbin commented, sitting down at the table across from where Jisung was perched.

Chan was dressed in a white button-down with black slacks and had a black apron tied around his waist. He rolled his eyes at Changbin’s nonsense. “Thanks,” he said dryly. “I was just about to clock out and get changed so that you guys can use my employee discount, but if you want to pay full price…”

“Oh, please spare me!” Changbin said, clasping his hands together in a faux plea for mercy.

“Hyung!” Jisung chimed in, “Please let your favorite dongsaeng use your discount!”

Chan raised an eyebrow. “But Jeongin isn’t here?”

The two at the table fell into a chorus of protests but the blond paid them no mind. “I think Hyunjin is the one who’s in charge of this area, so he’ll probably get to you pretty soon. Just tell him I want the strawberry-watermelon juice and I’ll be out before we get anything for lunch.”

“‘Kay.” Jisung nodded, eyes fixed on Chan’s broad shoulders as he walked toward the back of the cafe. He turned his eyes back to Changbin when Chan disappeared. “Why were you late?”

“I forgot my wallet,” Changbin said, scratching his arm sheepishly. “Had to turn back around to get it since it has my studio ID in it.”

Jisung nodded in understanding. “I mean if we couldn’t get into the studio then this would be pretty pointless.”

“Yeah, that’s why-”

“Hi, guys! I’m Hyunjin and I’ll be your waiter today. Is there anything I can get you started with?”

Changbin’s voice died in his throat, he turned to the waiter and failed to say anything. Hyunjin had to be the most beautiful person he had ever seen. “I-” he stuttered, his mind blank.

“You?” Hyunjin prompted, holding a notepad up to prepare his order.

“I want to take you to pound town.” Changbin managed before his mind caught up to his mouth. “Shit, that’s not what I wanted to say. You’re just so… and I just… So I…”

Jisung cleared his throat. “What Changbin-hyung is trying to say is that he wants a lemonade and a working brain cell, please.”

Changbin buried his face into his hands. “Yeah, that.”

Hyunjin laughed, caught off guard. 

_His laugh sounds like bells_ , Changbin mused.

“I can get the lemonade, but I’m not so sure about the brain cells. And you?” He tilted his head, eyes darting to Jisung.

“I want an iced Americano and Channie-hyung wants the-”

“The strawberry-watermelon juice?” Hyunjin smiled. “It’s all he ever drinks during his break.”

“Yeah?” Jisung asked, eyebrows raised.

“Yep!” Hyunjin said, jotting down their orders. “I’ll be right back with your drinks in a moment. Let me know when you’re ready to order something else, ok?”

After Hyunjin walked away, Jisung nudged Changbin’s leg with his foot. “Great first impression there.”

“I can never come back here again,” Changbin groaned into his hands. “I’m sure he hates me and I wouldn’t blame him.”

“I wouldn’t say that…” Jisung said, trying to be consoling. It wasn’t very effective.

Changbin heard the squeak of shoes on a tiled floor and then Chan’s familiar voice. “Did you guys already order?”

He could only groan in response.

“Is something wrong?”

“Changbin-hyung just sucks at talking to cute boys.”

“You mean Hyunjinnie?”

“ _Hyunjinnie?_ ” Jisung raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah,” Chan said, his smile unwavering. “The pretty waiter with long hair?”

“Don’t remind me,” Changbin said, daring to peek out from behind his fingers. “He was too beautiful and I panicked. I’ve never seen someone that pretty not on a tv screen.”

“Beautiful?” A warm voice asked from behind where Changbin was seated. “That’s much better than asking me to go to _pound town,_ in my opinion.”

Changbin paled. “Don’t tell me he’s already back.”

“Hi, Hyunjinnie!” Chan greeted, impervious to Changbin’s dread.

“Channie-hyung! Why are you still here? Are these your friends?” Hyunjin chirped, plump lips forming a smile.

The eldest nodded. “Yeah! The one with the cute bucket hat is Jisungie and the one who apparently said something about _pound town_ is Changbin.”

“Are you guys going to be here often?”

“Probably,” Chan said. “We only have a semester for this project and we have to make an entire album, so we’re going to be meeting up here a lot.”

Yeah, Changbin knew he was screwed.

When the trio was wrapping up their session, Changbin excused himself from the table to “go to the restroom.” Once he was out of sight, he ducked to the counter to pay for the group’s meals. Before he got the chance to get in line to pay, he caught sight of Hyunjin leaving a table and heading toward the kitchen.

“Hey, wait!” Changbin chased after the waiter, feeling the need to apologize for his inability to filter his thoughts from earlier.

“Did you need something?” The waiter asked, turning around to face him.

“Oh, I just wanted to apologize for earlier. I promise I didn’t mean to say that or make you uncomfortable.” Changbin shifted his weight, pulling a little at the hem of his shirt. “I just thought -- or rather I still think-- that you’re beautiful and I wanted to ask you for your number. But I think I probably blew it.”

“Maybe.” Hyunjin tucked a stray piece of hair behind his ear. “But I think you might be able to make it up to me. You go to JYP University, right?”

Changbin nodded in response.

“Then we have the same school schedule. If you can win me over by the end of the semester, then I’ll give you my phone number and we can go on a date wherever you want. If you don’t, then at least I gave you a fair chance.”

The shorter boy gaped. “You-you’re willing to give me a chance?”

“If you’re willing to try.” His warm eyes scrunched up with a smile.

“But-but why?”

“Because you messed up, but you were willing to swallow your pride and apologize. I like that.” Hyunjin fiddled with his hair again. “Besides, you’re Channie-hyung’s friend and I don’t think Channie-hyung would be friends with a bad person.”

He couldn’t argue with that. Of course, that didn’t mean he wasn’t still shocked. Instead of dwelling on that, he decided to accept the challenge. “You won’t regret it,” he vowed.

“I hope not,” Hyunjin said, and Changbin could swear there was a glimmer of hope in his eyes. But as soon as he noticed it, the look was gone. “Now, I need to get back to work. See you next week?”

“Next week.” He confirmed before watching as Hyunjin disappeared into the kitchen. Next week, he was going to be prepared.




Changbin was ready. He had a bouquet of flowers in hand that he was sure was going to help to at least make up for last week’s altercation.

He had selected yellow daffodils, white lilacs, and pink nerium. He thought it was the perfect gift to show Hyunjin his true intentions and to apologize for his prior incompetence. The flowers were all beautiful but he was sure that they would pale in comparison to the even more beautiful waiter.

When Hyunjin came to wait on their table, Changbin presented him with the flowers.

“What are these for?” Hyunjin asked before taking their drinks order. “Flowers?”

“I just thought this might be a better apology for my inability to talk to you last week.”

Hyunjin smiled, a smaller and softer smile than Changbin had seen before. His heart fluttered in his chest, his stomach feeling tight as anticipation washed over him. He hoped Hyunjin would at least appreciate the gesture.

“They’re beautiful,” Hyunjin said. Changbin’s chest swelled at the compliment, full of affection for a boy he had only met a week ago.

“Not as beautiful as you.” He dared to say, at risk of being cheesy.

Hyunjin made a face. “Stop being so greasy.”

“Even if it’s true?” He gave the other an exaggerated wink.

Hyunjin just sighed and shook his head. “It’s gross.”

Changbin laughed, finding the other boy cute. “But seriously, do you like the flowers?”

“They’re nice,” Hyunjin said. “No boy has ever given me flowers before. They always thought they were too girly.”

“But anyone can like flowers.”

“That’s true. But a lot of people think that since I’m a boy that I wouldn’t like them.”

Changbin frowned. “That’s stupid.”

“I really do like them.” Hyunjin smiled before grabbing them and taking a whiff of the bouquet. “They even smell nice.” His smile quickly dropped and he set the flowers back on the table and turned his head quickly to sneeze.

“Let me guess, you’re allergic.”

“I’m sorry, I-” the waiter sneezed again. “I didn’t know I would-”

Changbin sighed and put the flowers under the table. “It’s not like you could have known.”

“But still… You thought to get such a kind gift…” Hyunjin sniffled.

“And it didn’t work out.” Changbin shrugged it off; it wasn’t Hyunjin’s fault for having an allergy. “I’ll just have to think of something better for next time.”

Once Hyunjin had collected their orders (two americanos for Changbin and Jisung, and a strawberry-watermelon juice for Chan, of course) and headed to the kitchen to put them in the system, Jisung kicked Changbin’s leg. “Why wouldn’t you first _ask_ before you got him flowers?”

“I didn’t know he was allergic!” Changbin defended, “Besides, he still liked them!”

Jisung sighed, “You’re hopeless, you know that, right?”

“Hey, that’s not fair… Next time will be better. You’ll eat your words, Han Jisung.”




Next time was not much better. Or at least, the circumstances in which they met were not better.

After a session at the recording studio, Changbin offered to drive Chan to his evening shift since he was the only one with a car and their session had run a little longer than they had planned. While he was there he figured he would see if Hyunjin was working, and maybe get a coffee to tide him over for the night so he could finish working on an essay he had due by the end of the week.

Since it was getting dark out, the cafe was fairly empty, with only a few customers sitting at the tables. There was still a little bit of time before the dinner rush, so Changbin decided he would go to the counter and see if Hyunjin was on shift. He figured that if he was that he might be able to spare a few minutes to chat before the cafe was busy again.

When he got to the counter, the employee stationed there took one look at him and sighed before pointing him to the area that Hyunjin was in charge of serving. “Thank you,” Changbin said, heading toward an open table.

He pulled the chair out and pulled out his phone to let his roommate know that he was going to be out a little later than he expected. He sent off the text and within a few seconds, he got a thumbs-up emoji in response. He was just settling in when he noticed a table of customers getting rowdy.

He sat back, trying to figure out why they were getting so noisy. A rush of cold ran through his veins as he realized what they were doing.

It looked like a group of university-age kids who had a little too much courage and not an ounce of shame were harassing one of the waiters in the restaurant. They were calling out to him, making unreasonable requests, and smacking him around.

“Please sit down,” the waiter said, flinching as one of the customers screamed close to his ear. It was only when the waiter turned around that Changbin realized who they were messing with. Hyunjin.

One of the boys stood up, raising his hand as if he were going to hit the waiter and Changbin moved immediately to stand beside him. He caught the delinquent’s hand in a crushing grip, fixing him a glare before shoving him away from Hyunjin. “Let’s not use violence, yeah?” Changbin snarled, “Why don’t you sit down and shut up?”

The boy scowled, ignoring him. “I didn’t know you had a _boyfriend_. If I had known you were like that I-”

Changbin cut him off, his patience already running thin. “You’d have _what_? Yeah, he’s pretty, and that might threaten your fragile and pathetic sense of masculinity. You might be questioning your sexuality but that’s no excuse to act like an animal. Just admit you’re attracted to him and stop acting like an ass.”

The group sat in place, eyes wide, looking between Changbin and the other guy in their group, too stunned to say anything. The boy turned bright red in a mix of embarrassment and anger but didn’t retaliate, simply pulling out a chair and sinking into it, refusing to look anyone in the eyes.

Satisfied and confident that they would leave Hyunjin alone now, he walked back to his table and had a seat. He scrolled through his phone, eyes still flicking over to the table of uni students occasionally to make sure that they were staying calm and didn’t bother Hyunjin.

Once he was finally settled it didn’t take long for Hyunjin to come to his table. “Hey,” Hyunjin greeted, his voice quiet as if he didn’t have the energy to raise his voice anymore. “Thanks for that. You really didn’t have to do that for me.”

“No, maybe not.” Changbin said, shrugging his shoulders, “But I didn’t want to leave you alone to deal with those idiots. I know you could’ve done it on your own, but you shouldn’t have to. I might not have known you for too long, but I have your back.”

“Thank you.” Hyunjin’s eyes were soft, molten. Pools of honey, wet as though they were filled with unshed tears. He sniffed and blinked his eyes, looking away before he pulled out a notepad to take Changbin’s order. “Um, what did you want to drink today?”

“An iced americano.” The shorter boy hummed, eyes glued to the other’s face, “Do you want me to stay until you finish your shift?”

“No, it’s ok. My roommate is giving me a ride tonight, and he does a lot of sports and boxing so I don’t think anyone is going to mess with me.” Hyunjin tucked his hair behind his ear again, finishing jotting down Changbin’s order. “Besides, Channie-hyung is still on shift and I know I could always ask him for help, too. But it was sweet of you to ask.”

“I just wanted to make sure you were safe,” Changbin said in agreement.

Hyunjin thanked him once more before heading to the kitchen to put his order in. When he brought out his drink he also gave him a slice of strawberry cake. Catching the confused look he was getting, he smiled. “It’s the best cake in the cafe. On the house, for your kindness.”

“Thank you.” Changbin paused, “Wait, are you allowed to do that?”

“Yep.” Hyunjin smiled. “And I’m allowed to do _this_ too.”

Before Changbin could question what the other boy meant by _that_ , the other was leaning forward and there was a soft pair of lips touching his cheek. Hyunjin’s lips were warm and plump against his skin, and as soon as they were there, they were gone.

Hyunjin’s ears were red when he straightened back up. “I hope you enjoy your meal, hyung. See you next time!”

Changbin could only touch the heated skin of his cheek and grin as he watched Hyunjin flee to the kitchen. Yeah, Jisung was definitely going to eat his words. He was nowhere near as hopeless as the other had thought.




Chan wasn’t able to meet the week after that incident, but the week following saw Chan, Changbin, and Jisung sitting at the cafe, reviewing the work that they had done so far, outside of the stuffy atmosphere of the studio.

Chan had just passed his headphones to Jisung so that he could review the arrangement so far when Hyunjin walked up to their table with a tray of drinks in hand. He placed them all on the table and then asked what they would order for the day. Chan and Jisung ended up both getting a Belgium waffle and Changbin ended up getting one of the sandwiches he hadn’t tried yet.

Before Hyunjin left to put the order in, Changbin stopped him. “Wait, just one thing.”

Hyunjin furrowed his eyebrows but dutifully turned around, a hand pushing back a few stray hairs from his face.

“I got you something,” Changbin said, pulling his bag onto his lap and searching through it before pulling out a small plastic bag. He handed it to Hyunjin, who inspected it to see what was inside. In the plastic was a hairpin with a flower engraved into it, a tiny pearl dotting the center of the flower. “I know you liked the flowers I got earlier but you were allergic, so I thought this might be a better option for you to have.”

“It’s beautiful, hyung,” Hyunjin marveled, taking it out of the bag, his long fingers tracing the details of the pin. “Thank you.”

“I just noticed your hair tends to get in your face sometimes, and I hoped that it might be helpful.”

“I love it,” Hyunjin said, smiling. “I’ll go and put your orders in now.”

When Hyunjin was far enough away that he couldn’t hear, Chan cleared his throat to catch the love-struck music major’s attention. “You know you could be nice enough to not make Jisungie and I third-wheel every time you see Hyunjin.”

“It wouldn’t be third-wheeling if it was a double date,” Jisung mumbled where Chan couldn’t hear him. Out loud, instead, he said, “Maybe you have more of a chance than I thought.”

Changbin scoffed in mock offense. “I have more of a chance than you do,” he remarked, laughing when Jisung turned bright red.

“Oh, you like Hyunjinnie, too?” Chan asked, oblivious. “I had a crush on him too when I first met him, but now I just think of him as a friend.”

Jisung sighed, “He’s not the one I like…”

“Then who is it?” Chan blinked at him.

“You’re really stupid you know,” Jisung huffed.

Chan just sat there stunned. He turned to Changbin, confusion written all over his face. “Do you know who he likes?”

Changbin just shook his head and put his hand on the older man’s shoulder. “I don’t think I’m allowed to tell you this one, hyung.”

Before Chan had the chance to retort, Hyunjin arrived again, this time with plates full of food. As he set down the plates on their table, Changbin noticed that he was wearing the hairpin, a gleam of silver in the black of his hair.

“What do you think?” Hyunjin asked a grin spread across his plump lips.

“You look beautiful,” Changbin replied earnestly. “I hope it helps to keep your hair out of your eyes.”

“Thank you,” Hyunjin said again, his smile growing, eyes narrowing from the force of his smile. Changbin could only hope that he could see that smile more in the future. He would do anything to make him smile like that again.




Late into the semester, the rainy season hit. Every day there were thunderstorms, torrential downpours, and violent winds that would appear like magic, soaking anyone unfortunate enough to have been caught outside.

Since the weather was so unpredictable, Changbin had offered to give Chan a ride to work, not wanting his friend to end up getting soaked to the bone from the rain and spend his entire shift wet and cold; that wouldn’t be very nice, considering how much they had worked together. It was the least he could do for his friend.

He loved Chan, he was one of his best friends, but he was ready to drop Chan off. He had given the older boy the AUX cord and instantly regretted it. Chan had really great taste in music when it came to _making_ the music, but the music he _listened to_ was not really Changbin’s style.

After a few minutes, a drizzle began to pour from the sky, quickly evolving from a light mist to heavy rain, Changbin’s windshield wipers furiously whipping back and forth to push the water off of the windshield. “Damn, it’s really coming down,” he remarked, squinting to see better in the storm.

“Yeah, thanks for giving me the ride,” Chan said, eyeing the way that the rain was falling sideways in sheets. “I can’t imagine that I could have walked in this.”

“Yeah, I can’t imagine that would’ve been very safe.” Changbin turned on his blinker and turned onto the road the cafe was located on. “Or very dry, either.”

Chan cringed, shivers running down his spine at the unpleasant thought. “Yeah, I probably would’ve been soaked even if I’d had an umbrella.”

Changbin shook his head and pulled into a parking spot close to the cafe. “Hopefully you don’t get too wet walking in.”

“I mean I have to change into my uniform anyway,” Chan said, shrugging. He pulled his hood over the mess of curls on his head. He thanked Changbin for the ride again and pulled open the door, rushing to get out of the door before closing the door and dashing toward the cafe’s awning to take shelter from the rain.

Changbin watched his friend until he got safely inside the building. He was about to pull out of his parking spot when he noticed a lanky figure with long, dark hair standing close to the wall of the building, staring forlornly at the deluge. Hyunjin.

He rolled down the passenger window and shouted, “Hey! Hyunjin! You want a ride?”

He watched as Hyunjin’s face lit up and he dashed to the car, accepting without hesitation. He slid into the seat, raindrops in his hair like jewels on a crown. “Thank you, hyung. I would’ve been waiting there for hours if it hadn’t been for you.”

“It’s no problem. Just tell me where you want me to drop you off so I can take you to your apartment. You can put your address in the built-in GPS, and after that, you can put on whatever music,” He said, gesturing to the AUX cord, now that it was empty (and most importantly, no longer blasting Chan’s questionable music choices). Hyunjin smiled and typed in his address. He grabbed his phone from his bag and plugged in the AUX cord. A sensual RnB beat began playing through the speakers, relaxing the atmosphere of the car. 

Hyunjin hummed along to the beat of the song, his voice soft and sweet. Changbin noticed his voice was very light, adding a nice contrast from the heavy, soulful voice coming from the speaker. “You have good taste in music,” he remarked.

“That’s just because you’re comparing my taste with Channie-hyung’s,” Hyunjin said playfully, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. “I don’t understand how he can produce such good music but have such a terrible playlist.”

“I’ve wondered the same thing,” Changbin agreed, laughing. “What stuff did he even show you anyway?”

“Wonder if he showed me any of your stuff?” Hyunjin teased. Changbin frowned, not expecting that response. Hyunjin continued anyway, “I’ve heard a lot of your music. I didn’t know you liked women, hyung. _Wow_.”

Changbin flushed, wishing he could delete that song from their file. “I mean I _do_ but that’s not all I-”

Hyunjin cut him off. “But I think a lot of your newer songs are really good. I think Streetlight is my favorite. The lyrics were really relatable.” He looked out of the window, the rain blurring out the world around them in a haze of white and grey. “I didn’t know you could sing. You looked so tough, I thought you only rapped.”

“I mean I’m not a great singer, but I’m not terrible either.” Changbin shrugged, pressing his foot on the brake to stop for a stoplight.

“No,” Hyunjin said, frowning. “You sound good, hyung.”

“Oh, well thank you.” Changbin felt uncomfortably warm, unused to hearing such genuine compliments about his music.

Hyunjin hummed in acknowledgment. “Oh, you turn left at the next light.”

“Okay.” Changbin turned on his blinker and got into the left lane, slowing slightly before guiding his car to the turn lane. He came to a stop at the intersection and waited for the light to turn green.

“You know, you’re one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, hyung. I thought you were scary and crass at first, but now I see that you’re like a big Doberman puppy. You look scary on the outside, but anyone who knows you can tell that you’re super sweet and clumsy.”

“A puppy?” Changbin asked, looking Hyunjin in the eye before checking the road to make sure he could make the turn safely. He waited for a small motorbike to go through the intersection before pressing on the gas and moving to a small side street.

“Yep, a puppy.” Hyunjin sat up straight, moving to pick up his bag. “You can drop me off here. There isn’t a lot of room for cars on the next street and I don’t want to inconvenience you more than I already have.”

“Are you crazy? I drove you here because I wanted to make sure you got home safe. Besides, do you even have an umbrella?”

“I forgot it at home.” Hyunjin pouted. “But it’s not that big of a deal, it’s like a fifteen-minute walk from here, max.”

“Look, there’s a parking garage right across the street. I can park there and then I can walk you to your apartment so I know you’ll be safe.”

Hyunjin frowned. “Do you even have an umbrella?”

Changbin smiled triumphantly and leaned over to the glove compartment to grab a small umbrella.

Hyunjin pursed his lips. “If you’re sure it’s not a bother…”

“If it was a bother, I wouldn’t have offered,” Changbin reassured, giving the other a gentle squeeze to his shoulder.

He put the car in motion again and drove through the first street. He stopped at the stop sign and pulled into the parking garage. After he parked, he and Hyunjin got out of the car. They walked to the entrance of the garage and Changbin pulled out his umbrella. It was a little small for two adult men, but it would have to do.

“Alright, hopefully, we don’t get too wet.”

In the defense of Changbin’s umbrella, it held up pretty well for the first few minutes of the walk, but with the way the wind was whipping back and forth, it was only a matter of time before the umbrella broke.

Changbin held the umbrella to the best of his ability (and short stature), but a sudden gust of wind hit, and the umbrella bent inside out and the metal core inside snapped out. Changbin and Hyunjin looked at each other in shock, before Hyunjin burst out into bright peals of laughter.

It was only early March, and the rain was freezing, drenching their clothes and piercing through their skin, into their bones with an ice-like chill. They were soaking wet in the freezing rain, but Changbin couldn’t find it in himself to care. He began to laugh too, letting the rain envelop him entirely.

Hyunjin was beautiful, and Changbin swore he’d never been more beautiful than in this moment. He was soaked through to the bone, his long hair plastered to his face, eyes like crescent moons reflecting the light from thousands of stars.

Hyunjin grabbed his hand and led him toward his apartment, still laughing. Changbin had no choice but to follow along, intertwining their fingers so he had a better grip on Hyunjin’s damp hand. They jogged along the street toward Hyunjin’s building when Hyunjin slipped on a dip in the road and stumbled. Changbin caught his arm and dropped the broken umbrella to slip a hand around Hyunjin’s waist to catch him.

He pressed Hyunjin tightly to his body, the taller man still uneasy with his stance, his eyes blown wide at their sudden proximity. He heard Hyunjin’s breath hitch in the back of his throat, intoxicated by the way Hyunjin smelled like roasted coffee beans and vanilla. It was addicting, and he couldn’t stop himself from glancing at his soft, rosy lips, the way they were parted as he gasped from surprise.

His eyes darted back up to meet Hyunjin’s. His expression was coy, kittenish, and he held his gaze for a moment before looking to Changbin’s lips and sliding his eyes shut, his perfect lips sticking out in a pretty pout.

Changbin didn’t think before accepting the nonverbal invitation, closing his own eyes and meeting Hyunjin halfway. This kiss seemed to last for hours and mere seconds at the same time. Hyunjin’s lips were soft and yielding beneath his own, plump and pliant and perfect. Hyunjin’s free hand grasped at his jaw, helping to deepen the kiss in a way that set Changbin’s blood on fire, despite the icy rain that continued to pour around them. The pair parted and Changbin watched as Hyunjin tried to chase his lips before his eyes opened again.

“That was nice,” Hyunjin murmured, just loud enough for Changbin to hear.

“Yeah.” Changbin was breathless, stunned by the man before him. “That was very nice.”

Hyunjin flushed, confidence wavering a little, now that he’d had the time to think about his actions. “I think you might have just successfully convinced me that I was right to give you another chance.”

Changbin laughed, surprised the other boy remembered that. “If I convinced you does that mean I can still take you on that date?”

“I don’t see why not.” Hyunjin replied, “I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”

“I’ll have to keep that in mind. But first, I’ll need your number. I highly doubt your boss wants me to continue bothering you at work all the time.”

“Sure.” Hyunjin hesitated. “But, while you’re here. You wanna come in? Dry off? Watch some Netflix?”

“Netflix and chill? I didn’t think you were the type.” Changbin joked. Hyunjin gave him an unamused look. “Yeah, I’d love to.” He leaned forward and gave Hyunjin another peck on the lips.

Hyunjin smiled and rolled his eyes as Changbin pulled away, quickly tugging the shorter boy into another kiss. “You’re lucky I like you so much.”

“I know,” Changbin said with a smile of his own. “I’m the luckiest man in the world.”

Hyunjin straightened up, still keeping Changbin’s hand in his own. They pulled apart, just enough to move, and Hyunjin began guiding him to his apartment. “You really are, hyung. I mean I don’t just give every man a chance.”

Changbin gently jabbed at his ribs. “Hey! You brat!”

Hyunjin only laughed and led him inside. Changbin grinned, his heart full of warmth as he followed him in. They spent the rest of the day inside, even long after the rain had cleared, random movies playing as they chatted, attached at the hip (and at times at the mouth, too). As Hyunjin smiled at him, curled against him on the couch, Changbin found himself extremely grateful for second chances, and that Hyunjin was willing to give one to a bumbling fool like himself.

Changbin pressed a kiss to Hyunjin’s cheek, his heart warm.

“What was that for?” Hyunjin asked.

“No reason,” Changbin said, a goofy grin growing on his face. “Just can’t help but kiss you.”

“Weirdo,” Hyunjin taunted, a playful look in his eyes.

“You’re the one who fell for my charms.” Changbin pointed out. “So who’s the real weirdo, _weirdo_.”

“Still you.”

Changbin scoffed in faux offense, “You’re so lucky that I like you.”

“I like you too.” Hyunjin smiled, innocent and sweet.

Changbin’s heart did a somersault in his chest. “I hope you know that one day you’re going to give me a heart attack.”

Hyunjin giggled as if he had no clue what he was doing to Changbin’s heart. “Well, it’s only fair then, because you’ve already taken my heart.”

“Even with my terrible first impression?”

“Especially with your terrible first impression,” Hyunjin said, a teasing grin growing on his plush lips. “But, seriously, even if you were really weird at first, I think you got back on track pretty quickly.”

“For you, I’ll always be on track.” Changbin looked Hyunjin in the eyes, completely sincere.

  
And even if it was a little cheesy, he was being honest. Hyunjin was the best thing, the best _person_ in the world, and Changbin wasn’t willing to let him go. After all, even a fool would know that Hyunjin was the best thing that he has.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Twitter @jinie_babie


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